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In the Press

Leakage(s) and Anticoagulants: An Unflinching Exploration of Morality

16 Sep 2017

'As a semi-surrealist play, Leakage(s) and Anticoagulants does a great job at balancing both the realist, narrative scenes and the psychological explorations of Raskolnikov’s mind. A chorus of eight (Desmond Soh, Henrik Cheng, Regina Foo, Shirley Tan, Sonia Kwek, Teo Dawn, Uma Katju, Wong Yunjie) represents the inner workings of Raskolnikov’s psyche, sharing their doubts, manipulating and urging her on throughout the play. At times at odds with one another, the chorus reflects Raskolnikov’s inner conflict, as she is torn between confessing her crime and keeping silent while an innocent Mikolai (Saran Jith) is convicted in her place.

What struck me the most was the sheer physicality of the performance – director Alberto Ruiz Lopez has crafted riveting movement sequences that bring out the potential of his students, particularly the eight-actor chorus.'

杀人犯不可靠的自白——观《泄漏物与抗凝血剂》

Review: Leakage(s) and Anticoagulants by ITI

10 Sep 2017

'Leakage(s) and Anticoagulants is an intelligent and unflinching examination of morality and provides an excellent showcase of the abilities of the graduating batch of ITI students, who possessed a strong sense of camaraderie onstage. The ease of which the cast handled themselves and the tricky script is a demonstration on the strength of the ITI training program and the vast array of skills they have acquired over the last three years. We wait with great anticipation to see what new projects these new graduates embark on next and hope the bonds forged during this period will lead to further collaborations between this talented batch of artists.'

Arts philanthropy yet to take off here, say arts groups

01 Aug 2017

'"When the Government supports an arts company, it tells me that the company is financially prudent. It gives me confidence as a donor," says Mr Alvin Lin, 34, a supporter of theatre training school Intercultural Theatre Institute.'

Art as Res Publicae: Where the Devil was the Devil?

25 Jul 2017

'The evening ended with a Closing Coda, delivered by the respected theatre educator and Cultural Medallion winner, T Sasitharan. He began by calling out “the elephant in the room”, that being our colluding voices in the absence of different points of views. There may have been an ordained preacher in the room, but Sasitharan’s denouncement, delivered with rhetorical force, won hands down, earning cheers from the audience. There was not a single utterance by Sasitharan that I disagreed with.'

Spectators in the spotlight

'Two participatory arts events last week deliberately put the audience in the spotlight and the results were eye-opening.

Instead of watching a scripted and staged performance, people witnessed the theatre of public opinion as more than 40 discussants debated hot-button issues in Art As Res Publicae.

... Despite the fiery topics, the discussion was tame, in part because the organisers' attempts to bring in known conservative voices were unsuccessful. As arts educator T. Sasitharan said, there was no elephant in the room. He called for the authorities to allow more spaces for differences to flourish and differing voices to have their say.'

Singapore arts fest kicks off with OPEN forum on pluralism, eldercare

'Singapore International Festival of Arts begins its pre-fest series The OPEN with two nights of discussions on caring for the elderly in Singapore, and dealing with different views among its people.

... What was initially hoped by many to be a lively discussion between parties with clashing perspectives turned out to be a storm in a teacup, with invited conservative individuals declining to participate.

During his closing remarks, theatre artist and Cultural Medallion recipient T Sasitharan pointed out the one-sided scenario that unfolded and described the evening as one where artists were “preaching to the converted”.'

'All in all, ITI has succeeded once again in using this performance as a means to cross boundaries and share various cultures via theatre. There’s both a strong educational and entertainment component in this piece, and here’s to more interesting, cultural pieces on our local stage in future as well.'